October 3, 2025

Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.

Democrats Believe Government Shutdowns Always Favor Democrats And So They Can Say Anything They Want 

By Robert Romano 

Democrats believe shutting down the government always benefits Democrats — and they’ve got the polling to prove it, with a Washington Post poll taken Oct. 1 finding more Americans blame Republicans for the shutdown than Democrats, with 47 percent blaming President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans, and only 30 percent blaming Congressional Democrats. 

That, even though Senate Democrats are in fact blocking a vote for the clean continuing resolution that would reopen the government on the floor of the Senate.  

The last vote had 55 Senators voting in favor of the Republican-led proposal to simply keep spending at current levels through Nov. 21 to provide more time for appropriators to talk, including Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, Nevada Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Maine Independent Sen. Angus King. 

And even though Senate Democrats are otherwise demanding Senate Democrats are holding out for a $349.8 billion permanent expansion of Obamacare subsidies known as premium tax credits and another $270 billion to repeal sections of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that bar illegal aliens from getting Medicare, Medicare or Obamacare insurance exchange subsidies and otherwise were directed to remove waste, fraud and abuse from these programs.  

Specifically, Sec. 2141 of S. 2882, Senate Democrats’ latest continuing resolution proposal that was defeated only garnering 47 votes, states, “Subtitle B of title VII of the Act titled ‘An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14’ (Public Law 119–21) is repealed and any law or regulation referred to in such subtitle shall be applied as if such subtitle and the amendments made by such subtitle had not been enacted.”  

Here are all the sections for Subtitle B of title VII of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that Democrats want gone: 

Subtitle B—Health 

CHAPTER 1—MEDICAID 

SUBCHAPTER A—REDUCING FRAUD AND IMPROVING ENROLLMENT PROCESSES 

Sec. 71101. Moratorium on implementation of rule relating to eligibility and enrollment in Medicare Savings Programs. 

Sec. 71102. Moratorium on implementation of rule relating to eligibility and enrollment for Medicaid, CHIP, and the Basic Health Program. 

Sec. 71103. Reducing duplicate enrollment under the Medicaid and CHIP programs. 

Sec. 71104. Ensuring deceased individuals do not remain enrolled. 

Sec. 71105. Ensuring deceased providers do not remain enrolled. 

Sec. 71106. Payment reduction related to certain erroneous excess payments under 

Medicaid. 

Sec. 71107. Eligibility redeterminations. 

Sec. 71108. Revising home equity limit for determining eligibility for long-term care 

services under the Medicaid program. 

Sec. 71109. Alien Medicaid eligibility. 

Sec. 71110. Expansion FMAP for emergency Medicaid. 

SUBCHAPTER B—PREVENTING WASTEFUL SPENDING 

Sec. 71111. Moratorium on implementation of rule relating to staffing standards for 

long-term care facilities under the Medicare and Medicaid programs. 

Sec. 71112. Reducing State Medicaid costs. 

Sec. 71113. Federal payments to prohibited entities. 

SUBCHAPTER C—STOPPING ABUSIVE FINANCING PRACTICES 

Sec. 71114. Sunsetting increased FMAP incentive. 

139 STAT. 78 PUBLIC LAW 119–21—JULY 4, 2025 

Sec. 71115. Provider taxes. 

Sec. 71116. State directed payments. 

Sec. 71117. Requirements regarding waiver of uniform tax requirement for Medicaid provider tax. 

Sec. 71118. Requiring budget neutrality for Medicaid demonstration projects under 

section 1115. 

SUBCHAPTER D—INCREASING PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY 

Sec. 71119. Requirement for States to establish Medicaid community engagement requirements for certain individuals. 

Sec. 71120. Modifying cost sharing requirements for certain expansion individuals under the Medicaid program. 

SUBCHAPTER E—EXPANDING ACCESS TO CARE 

Sec. 71121. Making certain adjustments to coverage of home or community-based 

services under Medicaid. 

CHAPTER 2—MEDICARE 

SUBCHAPTER A—STRENGTHENING ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 

Sec. 71201. Limiting Medicare coverage of certain individuals. 

SUBCHAPTER B—IMPROVING SERVICES FOR SENIORS 

Sec. 71202. Temporary payment increase under the Medicare physician fee schedule to account for exceptional circumstances. 

Sec. 71203. Expanding and clarifying the exclusion for orphan drugs under the Drug Price Negotiation Program. 

CHAPTER 3—HEALTH TAX 

SUBCHAPTER A—IMPROVING ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA 

Sec. 71301. Permitting premium tax credit only for certain individuals. 

Sec. 71302. Disallowing premium tax credit during periods of Medicaid ineligibility due to alien status. 

SUBCHAPTER B—PREVENTING WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE 

Sec. 71303. Requiring verification of eligibility for premium tax credit. 

Sec. 71304. Disallowing premium tax credit in case of certain coverage enrolled in during special enrollment period. 

Sec. 71305. Eliminating limitation on recapture of advance payment of premium tax credit. 

SUBCHAPTER C—ENHANCING CHOICE FOR PATIENTS 

Sec. 71306. Permanent extension of safe harbor for absence of deductible for telehealth services. 

Sec. 71307. Allowance of bronze and catastrophic plans in connection with health savings accounts. 

Sec. 71308. Treatment of direct primary care service arrangements. 

CHAPTER 4—PROTECTING RURAL HOSPITALS AND PROVIDERS 

Sec. 71401. Rural Health Transformation Program. 

That is the reason for the government shutdown: The Republican continuing resolution is comparatively clean and does not impact these provisions of law at all. It simply funds the government under existing laws through Nov. 21.  

Meaning, the Democrats who are blocking it and insisting on changes are the ones responsible for the shutdown — whether the public is aware of it or not. Therefore, Democrats should derive no legal benefit from the current shutdown, even if it benefits them politically. 

The Washington Post shows similar support for Democrats over the years in the 1995-1996 government shutdown, the 2013 government shutdown and the 2018-2019 government shutdown. They can’t lose! 

Apparently, Democrats believe past support plus a lack of public awareness of what Congress is currently voting on grants them a license to lie about it — especially on Obamacare and other federal health programs being given to illegal aliens, a long-standing controversy.  

That’s the message Democrats are sending to Republicans on Capitol Hill right now. That they will never negotiate in good faith on this issue as evidenced by their unbelievable denials of what’s clearly written in their own bill (see above) and especially their insistence that Republicans now vote for the provisions of the Democrats’ bill that clearly restore health insurance coverage to illegal aliens.  

As U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) told then-President Barack Obama in 2009 when Obama insisted no health benefits would go to illegal aliens: “You lie!” 

Now, Republicans will accept the lie, formalize it and codify it — and they’ll like it. President Donald Trump would never sign the bill adding illegal aliens to the taxpayer-funded health rolls, but no matter, just keep lying. In contemporary parlance, they are gaslighting the American people.  

And if Democrats’ own supporters still cannot tell the difference after 16 years, why start telling the truth now?  

Robert Romano is the Executive Director of Americans for Limited Government.  

To view online: https://dailytorch.com/2025/10/democrats-believe-government-shutdowns-always-favor-democrats-and-so-they-can-say-anything-they-want/  

Double-Digit Decline For Democrats Among Women Since 2017 – Will Women Abandon Dems In Midterms?  

By Manzanita Miller  

Women have been the backbone of the Democratic Party in modern elections, but looking at the party’s favorability over time, the data suggests Democrats are pushing away female voters. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Key issues that female voters prioritize – such as the cost of living, safety, and border security which is directly linked to reducing crime – have been entirely mismanaged by the left. On top of that, the Democratic Party’s increasingly blatant attempts to encourage men in women’s sports and push a corrosive cultural agenda into the classrooms of children can no longer be ignored. Female voters are rethinking the radical left, and for good reason.     

Data from YouGov that tracks the Democratic Party’s favorability over time shows a worrying trend for Democrats. While the Democratic Party’s favorability rating was underwater by a single percentage point in the fall of 2017 before the 2018 midterm cycle, the party is now underwater by eighteen points. Data from 2017 reveals the Democratic Party sat at a lukewarm approval rating of -1, with 44 percent of voters approving of the party while 45 percent disapproved in Sept. 2017. Fast-forward to Sept. 2025 and nearly 58 percent of women disapprove of the Democratic Party while less than 40 percent approve. This represents a seventeen-point decline in Democratic Party approval among female voters compared to the 2018 midterm cycle, when Democrats enjoyed a net gain of 40 seats in the U.S. House. The numbers are not great for Democrats compared to the 2022 midterm cycle, either. In Sept. 2021, the Democratic Party’s favorability was positive by three points, with 48 percent of women approving of the party while 44 percent disapproved.  

What might be driving this skyrocketing disapproval for Democrats? Survey data has consistently shown that while all Americans are unhappy with the high price of goods, women are more sensitive to the cost of goods and services than other groups. Inflation/prices is the top concern to women according to the latest Economist/YouGov survey from Sept. 26-29, with 24 percent of women, compared to 19 percent of men, saying inflation is their number one priority. Jobs (11 percent), healthcare (11 percent) and immigration (7 percent) are the next tier of issues for female voters. 

Americans overall trust the Republican Party to handle economic issues, and with inflation and the economy being primary concerns for women, it is not surprising that female voters are unsure whether to support the Democratic Party’s string of economic failures. Healthcare was once an area where the Democratic Party was able to appeal to women, but since the mishandling of the pandemic in blue states, President Trump’s reelection, the installation of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary, and the highly popular “Make America Healthy Again” movement, women are gravitating toward the GOP to address health concerns. Lastly, on immigration, Democrats have largely lost the battle on the border and deportation. President Trump’s deportation efforts are widely popular, and Democrats are not trusted to handle immigration by a majority of the public.  

Overall, Democrats are driving away women at the margins, and that shift could catch up with them in the 2026 midterm cycle and beyond. While not as rapid of a shift as the Hispanic exodus from Democrats, female voters have been slowly trending back toward the right in the wake of the 2016 election.  

Between the 2018 and 2022 midterm cycles, Democrats lost six points with women – going from winning 59 percent of the female vote in the 2018 midterms under President Trump to 53 percent in 2022 under Biden. Despite the electoral landscape historically favoring the out-of-power party in midterm elections, Democrats are not polling well with women leading into 2026. The latest generic Congressional ballot data from The Economist/YouGov shows Democrats collecting just 46 percent of the female vote in the midterm cycle with a great number of women undecided.  

In terms of the presidency, Mitt Romney won 44 percent of the female vote in 2012 against Barack Obama, and four years later when faced with a choice between President Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, a smaller share of women, 41 percent, chose Trump. But by 2024, Republicans were back to their 2012 numbers with women – 44 percent of female voters chose Trump in 2024, up from 42 percent in 2020.     

The Democratic Party has long relied on rallying women to their causes to maintain power in Washington, but as more of the country rejects the left’s failed open borders agenda and demands stronger trade deals and real solutions to public safety, women are becoming disillusioned with Democrat solutions. The Democratic Party, despite paying lip-service to so-called gender issues, has largely caused women and families to suffer, and the party’s failures are translating into rising dissatisfaction.  

Manzanita Miller is the senior political analyst at Americans for Limited Government Foundation.  

To view online: https://dailytorch.com/2025/10/double-digit-decline-for-democrats-among-women-since-2017-will-women-abandon-dems-in-midterms/